Chapter 28 – David
Richard was pissed. In fact, I think he was more than pissed. The trouble is, I have no idea how much of that anger was directed at me, and how much was directed at Charmaine and Vincent.
“Do you think he’s serious?” Charmaine asks, the second the door to her office slammed shut.
“I have no idea,” Vincent answers. “In all our years together, he has never said that before, and we have had some brutal arguments.”
“He won’t go anywhere,” I tell them, as I turn and shift back in my chair to look at them.
“Are you sure about that?” Vincent asks.
Am I sure? No, not really, but I can’t say that to Vincent. “He’s just angry.”
“I have to admit, I’m surprised that he took it so badly,” Charmaine tells us. “I would’ve thought he would have loved to stay out of the spotlight.”
“I should’ve realised. Richard has never been afraid of the spotlight, in fact there are times when I think he enjoyed it,” Vincent adds.
“But the team?” I add.
“David, I think we just witnessed that you mean more to him than the team, and really, I can’t blame him. If the roles were reversed, I would’ve probably acted the same,” Vincent says.
“Then why suggest it?”
“Because, I needed to be the CEO, and not the best friend, and this is good for the team. Mine and Lars coming out caused issues, there is no denying that. You and Richard coming out, probably would’ve done the same. I hate to say this, but your injury helped there.”
When I had come into the office and seen the three of them sitting there, I never thought for one minute that what was going to be discussed would result in my husband storming out.
But I also had to admit that, deep down, I liked the idea.
Not because I wanted to keep who I was married to a secret, far from it.
In fact, I would say, it was almost the opposite, I wanted to keep Richard just for me.
I didn’t want to share us with the world.
“I’m going to try calling him,” Vincent says, as he pulls out his mobile and starts tapping the screen, but I know that he isn’t going to answer, and I’m right. “David, can you try?”
There is no point in me trying either, but I decide to humour Vincent, and pull out my mobile. After a few rings, it goes to voicemail, and when I try again a few minutes later, it goes straight to his voicemail. He turned his phone off.
“I’m going to try and catch him,” Vincent says, and rushes out of the office.
“It was never my intention for this to happen,” Charmaine says.
“I know, and I understand. You were looking out for the team. Richard knows that deep down, too. It’s just…”
“You’ve been through a lot,” Charmaine offers.
“Yeah,” I confirm.
Vincent walks back in, with Jasper close on his heels, and I instantly get to my feet. There is a determined look on Jasper’s face.
“Richard saw me but didn’t stop,” Vincent announces. “But Jasper says he knows where he’s going.”
“Dave, he called Kimber,” Jasper tells me.
“What? Why?” I ask, as I slump back into my seat. I can’t believe that he would go back there.
“Dave, not for that. Rich wouldn’t,” Jasper says. “I have a plan, but we need to get going, and now.”
Jasper doesn’t give me a chance to ask what is happening before he’s helping me to my feet, giving me my crutches, and is walking me out of the building.
“I’m going to get my car. Time is of the essence,” Jasper says, as he races ahead of me.
Just as I’m getting to the main doors of the building, I can see Jasper waiting at the bottom of the steps, and he’s tapping the wheel with his finger. Not sure that is going to make me move faster, especially with a bandaged-up knee.
Opening his passenger door, I have just closed the door when he starts pulling off. Pushing a button on his steering wheel, telling the car to call Kimber.
“We’re on the way,” Jasper says, when Kimber answers.
“Come in through the back, I will keep it open. But you need to get here quickly,” I hear Kimber’s voice.
“I plan to,” Jasper says.
Jasper hangs up the call and pushes the car to go faster. I grip the handle of the door. I can drive at hundreds of miles an hour. Push cars around corners and not even blink, but being in a passenger seat, on normal roads, while not in control of the car is terrifying.
“Do we have to go this fast?” I ask.
“Yes. We do,” Jasper answers. “I need to get ahead of Richard, and he already has a few minutes on us.”
For my own sanity, I don’t say anything more to Jasper while he’s driving, especially at some of the speeds he’s travelling at. If the cops spot us, he will be banned instantly, which I don’t think Vincent would be too impressed with.
Finally, we’re pulling into a driveway at the back of a house that has huge wooden gates that close behind us. Kimber is waiting for us at the back door. She hasn’t changed much, and I wish that I was meeting her again under different circumstances.
“It’s good to see you, David,” Kimber says, as I get close.
“Good to see you, too.”
“Jasper, you’re in room two. It was his usual.”
“Good choice,” Jasper says. “Will Dave and Richard be able to have the room all night?”
“I think that can be arranged, but you’re not staying with them?” Kimber asks.
“No. Once I know that Rich isn’t going to bolt, I’m going to leave these two to it. Do you have anyone that might need me?” Jasper asks, and I can hear the hope in his voice.
“Jasper, no. We talked about this. I have shifted all your clients. You are just going to have to keep your sister company.” And I almost laugh at the huff sound Jasper makes on hearing his sister, but he doesn’t say anything more.
Jasper helps me up the stairs, and into room two, and positions me in the middle of the room.
It’s bigger than I thought it would be. The room is split in half, as you walk in, there is a neatly made large double bed, with some bedside tables.
On each of the tables, there is a holder where I can see packets of condoms, and bottles of lube.
Well, at least Kimber is making sure that everyone is safe.
The other half of the room is dominated by two couches facing each other with a coffee table in the middle.
“Stand in front of the table. Rich isn’t going to be expecting you,” Jasper tells me. “I’m going to stand in the shadows, and, hopefully, he won’t see me at first.”
“What am I even doing?” I ask him but keep looking at the door.
“You’re going to talk, using the same technique he used on you,” Jasper explains.
So that’s the plan. I’m to stand here and dominate Rich until he starts talking, and I mentally cross my fingers that it’s going to work. The door to the room opens, and Rich steps inside. The second that he sees me, he stops in his tracks, and looks at me.
I tell him to sit, making sure that he can hear the command in my tone, and am surprised when he answers back.
He has never done that before, and I try again.
Rich still defies me. Suddenly, Jasper’s commanding tone resounds from behind, and I almost go and sit down, but Rich doesn’t move.
Fuck. He is more annoyed than I thought.
Rich and I need to be alone. This is something that we have to sort out together.
Jasper is not going to be able to help on this one.
Rich defying us both is proof of that. Jasper must be able to sense what we need, because, after checking that I’m okay, he starts to walk out.
I see him whisper something to Rich, but he deliberately gets his voice low, so I don’t hear him. Then, finally, we’re alone.
Trying again, I command Rich to sit down, and he still tells me no. Taking a deep breath, I harness everything that I can, and tell him that he has to listen to me. That he needs to sit down, and we are going to talk.
Finally, he listens, and he sits down, and I take a step to join him.
Needing to be close to him. To feel his body heat, but he tells me no.
He tells me to sit on the couch opposite him.
I want to defy him. He’s my husband, and if I want to sit next to him then goddammit, I will, but I don’t.
At the moment, it’s better to keep the peace, than rock the boat even more.
“You called Kimber,” I state when I’m settled. “Did you do that the last time we weren’t talking?”
“No,” Rich replies, but doesn’t offer anything further.
“Is this going to happen every time we argue, or there is a bump in the road? You’re going to call Kimber for sex?”
“I had no intention of having sex. I wouldn’t do that,” Rich says. “Not to you.”
“Then why did you book an appointment, if not for sex?”
“This was the one place that I was allowed to be me. I need that, after today.”
Wow. That felt like a kick in the guts.
“Rich….” I start, but he cuts me off.
“Dave, you sat there and agreed to hide me. You put me back into a closet that I didn’t want to go back into.”
“We were thinking about you and the team,” I start.
“So, this is still something you want to do.”
Rich is going to hate this answer, but yes. Our plan was to do this together, but all the press attention recently had made me reconsider everything. There is no denying that it’s me in the photo, so I can’t change that. But I can protect Rich, and I will.
“Yes,” I finally say.
“No,” Rich responds back, “You can’t tell me when, or how, I come out.”
“That’s true. But I need to protect you, and this is one way I can do that. Plus, it protects the team. Both you and Vincent have spent decades, and millions of pounds, creating the best team in F1, in my opinion.”
“The team would survive,” Rich counters.
“Would it?” I ask. “What would the FIA say about having two openly gay representatives?”
For the first time since Rich walked into the room, he loses the harshness to him, and he slumps into the seat. It’s like he’s giving up.
“Rich,” I say his name, gently.
“Don’t,” he whispers back. “There is nothing I can say that is going to change your mind, is there?”
“No,” I confirm.